Warrior

The 1st Marine Division's 70-mile march south from Changjin reservoir to the sea in the winter of 1950 has gone down in military annals as one of the great classic retreats in the history of war. Bringing their dead and wounded with them in sub-zero weather, pursued by eight fiercely attacking divisions of Chinese Communists, the marines of the 1st beat their way to Hungnam and rescue in 13 days. But proper marines never refer to the march as a retreat; in the parlance of the corps, it is always "an amphibious operation in reverse," or, simply, "the breakthrough to the sea." One proper marine, Major General Oliver Prince Smith, whose leadership made the operation possible, immortalized the retreat (and himself) with a terse comment. "Retreat, hell!" he said. "We're just attacking in a different direction."

Guam to Iceland. Smith, known variously as "O.P." and "The Professor," took a long time to get to his first battlefield--through no fault or desire of his own. He spent World War I in frustration and boredom on the island of Guam. On Dec. 7, 1941 he was in Iceland. It was not until the Cape Gloucester operation in March 1944 that Smith, by then a greying colonel, got his first taste of combat and a Bronze Star. In his second operation, bloody Peleliu, he won the Legion of Merit for the smooth landing of three Marine assault teams. From Peleliu to Okinawa and from Inchon to Changjin reservoir, he won many honors (including the Distinguished Service Medal and the Army's Distinguished Service Cross) and advanced rapidly in the esteem of the corps.

All of Smith's fighting days, both in World War II and in Korea, were with the 1st Division. At the Inchon landing in Korea, he was in command of the 1st--and led it through some of its finest actions. He seems to be the very antithesis of the roistering, hell-for-leather marine of song and fable. Quiet, bookish, religious (Christian Scientist), he never raises his voice, is famous for writing earnest citations for his men and modestly evading praise of his own heroism.

Notes to Gospel. Smith has always been a keen student of war, and an advocate of infinite rehearsals and relentless training for battle. In practice, his theories paid off, and many of his battlefield notes have found their way into military training manuals and Marine Corps gospel.

Last week in Norfolk, after 38 years, four months and two days of active duty, Lieut. General Oliver Prince Smith retired at 62. In a quiet ceremony, his superior officer, Admiral Jerauld Wright, commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet, and his wife, Mrs. Esther Smith, pinned the four stars of a full general on his spare shoulders, and his three-star flag as commander, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, was struck. "By your inspiring leadership and steadfast courage," wrote Marine Commandant General Lemuel Shepherd Jr. in a warm farewell message, "the marines under your command achieved a record which stands with the most illustrious fighting units in our country's history."

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